Might of One EP 5: Birds of a Feather
by SoulsSwords
Summary: After completing their difficult task, the three then embark to Taki's location. All the while, dark wings have been plotting in secret. The danger has only begun.
1. Friendship

As the day continued, the Alexander's couldn't thank the trio enough for their deed. Eternally grateful of them, they invited them in the house and then asked them to stay for a night and recover do to their beaten and battered appearances. Leixia, trying to be polite, refused the offer at first, "No really…it'd be a burden since you just got your family back."

Natsu agreed, "We wouldn't want to intrude."

Cassandra frowned, "Are you sure? Because you know we can cook us all a wonderful dinner, and we could let you wash yourselves in our hot spring and-"

"Wait wait! Food?" Xiba hadn't eaten anything but a peach in the past two days, he was starving.

"Xiba!" Leixia scolded, "What did you say about a hot spring?"

None of them had used a hot spring before; in the back of the house they had two divided by a wall, one side for the women and the other for men. Steam rose from the water as they suddenly realized how heavenly it looked. Pyrrha and Patroklos arrived at the scene,

"So, who's first?" The blonde beauty asked. Xiba decided to wait on Patroklos' turn while Pyrrha soaked herself in the lavishing, heated pool. Natsu entered as Leixia waited behind the door, covering her nude body with a towel. It was 15 minutes and Patroklos entered the house; it was now Xiba's turn, he took his clothes with him so he could dress himself before re-entering.

It was now 20 minutes and Leixia was surprised to see Xiba in and out so quickly. "You're done?" He was definitely squeaky clean as his wet hair and skin showed.

"Doesn't take too long." He stated before leaving her. Leixia waited now 30 minutes as she threw the door open, the steam and water hid whatever Natsu could show,

"Alright! You've been out here long enough! It's my turn."

Natsu had finished cleaning her skin and hair, now she was enjoying the wonderful, relaxing humidity as she leaned against the edge, "Aw…Do I gotta get out?" Leixia could see her sadness and bitterly sighed,

"Fine. I guess we'll share." They were both girls, and the pool was able to cover them. She set the towel aside and stepped into the pool. She scrubbed the oil from her skin as she'd forgotten how soft it was. She drenched her long brown hair underneath the pool, floating for a bit to let whatever grease had gotten into it vanish. It was back to its silky smooth texture in no time.

Leixia sighed; relieved she was finally 100% hygienic again. Leixia noticed her bandage was soaked and unwrapped it. The wound had closed and left a long scar, but at least it was gone. She then noticed Natsu's bliss; she was still leaned against the edge, eyes closed. "Haven't you been in a hot spring before?"

"No, never." She admitted, wading closer so she could hear her, "I used to bathe in a lake right outside my house." Leixia had never thought of such a thing, Natsu could see her befuddled expression, "It was always cold, but really sanitary…it would always feel nice on a burning hot summer's day…to jump into that fresh cold water." It had its perks.

"I'd imagine…but I could never picture being in something like that." The Chinese practionere put her hands behind her head, leaning herself back onto the edge, "Nothing is more soothing than heated water." Natsu saw her relaxation and grew a bit mischievous…as well as a childish urge. Leixia's relaxing was put to a halt when hot water suddenly drenched her face. She yelped, not expecting it, "What?"

"Gotcha!" She pointed, joking around. Leixia grinned and forcefully shoved water back. Natsu screamed in delight. The two then ended up splashing each other, laughing in their hilarity. As well as making fun of each other for messing up their hair.

After a while, the sun began to set. Leixia, Natsu, and Xiba would be sharing a room, which they weren't surprised about. The two girls were in there; Leixia was looking at her pruned, wrinkled fingers and Natsu was drying her hair with a towel, "Man…next time let's not stay in there for an hour."

Natsu began to pull her hair up with her pink hair clip that had feathers on it. Her hair always seemed to look like it was more than one ponytail. Leixia saw Natsu's cringing look into the mirror. "You know, I love your hair." She said, completely honest.

She scoffed, "Why?"

"It's a lot more stylish than mine. All I can do is braid it like this." She noted, Natsu laughed,

"At least you can braid it."

Pyrrha knocked on the door, she had her fine blonde hair in a pony tail, and she'd changed into more casual clothes. "Hey you two, it's time for food." She smiled. She then saw Natsu's solemn look, she always seemed to get it when she was around, "Hey Natsu, could we talk?" Leixia looked at the two curiously before exiting, closing the door behind her,

"Is everything alright between the two of us?"

"Of course!" Natsu immediately replied, "Why, is something wrong?"

Startled by her sudden reaction she waved her hands, "No no, it's just…every time you look at me you get sad." She lightly put it. Natsu was too embarrassed to admit her envy of Pyrrha. Pyrrha was beautiful. More than beautiful, she was pulchritudinous; lacking any flaws in her physical beauty.

"It's…it's not fair!" she shouted, startling the blonde once again, "You're flawless; your hair, your eyes…I've never seen anything like you before in Japan…if I were you, I wouldn't have been picked on for being a freak!"

"Natsu…you're beautiful." She took the more older-sister approach, Natsu denied it,

"No I'm not; Name one other person from Japan with this…frizzy orangey hair, green eyes, and this…long face." Pyrrha sat her down on one of the two beds,

"Exactly…no one else in Japan looks like you…you stand out in the most amazing way." She raised a brow, "Didn't you say I'm beautiful because I'm like nothing you've ever seen?"

Natsu nodded, blushing deeply from her embarrassment, "Yeah…No one in Japan looks like you."

"And no one in Japan or _here _looks like _you_!" Natsu looked up at the wise woman, "You're unique everywhere you go; think about it, everyone here looks like me." She said, reminding her of the perspective. "So don't you dare think you're not pretty." The motherly girl gently pushed at her shoulder, something she did with Patroklos. "Now come on! It's time for food!"

Cassandra had made fried squid that was served along with pita bread from her father's bakery. She'd made enough for everyone. Lucius awkwardly sat next to Xiba, "So you're from…China?"

"Yup. Born and raised near the Himalayas."

"Huh, that's cool." He felt uncomfortable around these foreigners, "I love wonton soup." Xiba realized he was just stereotyped,

"I like pizza." He caught him in the act. Lucius blushed,

"Pizza's good too."

Natsu and Pyrrha arrived and she saw the amazing meal, "Wow this looks good!" She sat next to Leixia, "I love squid!" Meanwhile, Leixia stared at it, thinking she just saw her meal move. "What's wrong?"

"I've never eaten anything that came from the ocean before…"

"Haven't you eaten sushi?"

Leixia was even more confused, "Huh?"

Natsu wondered, "Mackerel?"

"No…"

"Octopus?" she was worried about Leixia's appetite.

"Nope."

Natsu could only worry, "Who…are you?" Boy was she missing out she thought. Unbeknownst to them, Pyrrha nodded at Cassandra, giving her the cue, she, along with her family members stood up,

"Alright everyone, before we begin our meals…" Xiba quickly stopped chewing the food in his mouth, holding the grinded meat where it was.

"We want to thank those who helped us…who performed the greatest task we've ever seen."

Pyrrha spoke, "This meal is dedicated to our noble saviors."

Patroklos continued, "For giving us back our lives,"

Rothion then concluded, "And our faith in humanity." Upon them sitting down, Xiba finished chewing and swallowed, relieved. Natsu was humbled. Lucius tried to make conversation with the savior sitting across from him,

"So, you're Japanese Patroklos says. You certainly look Mediterranean."

"Oh yes…lots of people assume I'm European and I'm like 'nope! Japanese!'." Her awkward personality got in the way sometimes.

"Well, what makes you look like that?"

"Eh?" she was about to put the squid in her mouth…why was he looking at her like that? Did he know something? Suddenly all eyes were on her. Except Leixia, the only other soul that knew.

"Was one of your parents a foreigner?"

She was stumped, she grew nervous, "Um…no…It must've been a weird genetic thing."

"Like what?" Why was he doing this? Pyrrha took up to her uncle,

"Let's not worry about this and eat."

"No, I'm curious, of course a girl at her age knows herself by now."

"Lucius…" Rothion sneered. Leixia and Xiba both looked at their friend in concern.

"Ah…I…there is _something _that caused this, but it's nothing necessary to talk about!"

"Why hold back?"

"I'm not!" she started to get aggressive, as his strange passive-aggressive behavior turned violent when he leaped over the table and grabbed her, Xiba and Leixia stood up with their weapons in hand, Lucius banged her against the wall, the house was in a frenzy,

"I know why! You're one of Soul Edge's children!" The thing that killed his sister drove him mad.

Natsu welted up, she tried to hold back her tears, "No! I-"

"I know what it was!" His gaze drew closer, Pyrrha grabbed a cutting knife off of her plate, furious, "You tricked us by gaining our trust and while we were asleep, you'd devour us!"

"No! No! Never!" as he tortured the poor girl, Pyrrha was suddenly in between them,

"UNCLE!" she held the knife's tip to his throat, "Step away." She growled as fire ablaze in her eyes. No one said a word, but Xiba was more confused than ever, Leixia was concerned. When he refused to move, she put the tip closer, lifting his chin, "Don't make me use this…"

The infuriated angel backed Lucius away from Natsu, who was drowning in her misery. Tears taking a painfully long time to reach the tips of her eyes. Upon seeing the worried looks on her friend's faces, she fled into the other room. Slamming the door tightly shut.

Only silence accompanied those at the table.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

The moon shone through the window of the room the trio would be staying in that night. Natsu was sitting on the floor near her bed, hugging her knees. It felt like hours she'd been crying. How did this always happen? Let alone why did it always have to happen? A gentle knock startled her,

"Natsu?" It was Leixia's voice, quietly calling.

"Please leave me alone."

"Natsu, please."

She figured it wasn't fair; after all it was also their room. "Okay…" Leixia and Xiba entered, Leixia sat next to her, hugging her while Xiba sat across from them, leaning against the other bed.

"Cassandra said he just went a little crazy; Soul Edge always makes him think of his sister-"

"I don't care about that!" she began to go into hysterics in front of the two, she hid her face. Xiba frowned in sympathy, "Why…why does everyone know I'm different…how do they see right through me?" Leixia held her,

"We didn't…and we still don't think any different of you."

"Leixia explained it to me." Xiba admitted, which comforted Natsu; this way she didn't have to explain it, "I'm not afraid of you…even with Arahabaki you've done nothing to harm anyone."

"Why does everyone think I have?" she tried to look away from them, Leixia tried to empathize with her, she decided to continue,

"I have to admit…I never would understand what it was like growing up in your life…but that doesn't mean I've never had it hard." Natsu was able to look back at them, wiping her face, "I remember, how horribly the other boys would treat me because I wanted to be in my father's army…they only saw me based on my looks, not how I could use a sword."

Natsu didn't seem to be impressed, so Leixia continued, "I remember…this one boy, Bohai, the one my mother asked me to marry…he…" she had to pause, the memory wasn't easy to talk about "He…followed me one day into the palace…he brought a few friends…" Natsu didn't like hearing other's pain…it only made her feel worse, "I remember that my parents were out with my brother doing some University thing with him and I had to stay behind to take care of the place.

"Anyways…I turn around to see them standing there…they didn't look friendly at all…I never told my family of this by the way, but…Bohai said I'd look cute without my clothes on." She put her hand over her face, her eyes wide open, remembering the rage she felt. The two were appalled. "He…he kept pressuring me to show them my body…but I refused! I took a…vase or something and I let them have it."

Xiba looked down at the floor, grimacing. He began to reminisce through his life. "Xiba…" Natsu mumbled, grabbing his attention, "What about you?"

"What _about _me?"

"We're all opening up to each other…we promise, what we say in this room stays in this room." Leixia added.

"It's not that I don't trust you…" he just didn't know how to explain, "It's that…none of this is easy for me to talk about…"

"This isn't easy for us either…but we swear that no matter the things we tell each other, it won't change our friendships." Natsu sincerely reminded him, grabbing his hand. He gently swiped it away, sighing,

"I mean…you guys already know the basics of my life; how I grew up with no mother…a horrible…horrible father…" certain memories made him cringe, "Isolated, no other interaction except maybe with a few people who come to train. All I ever did was train and get pummeled by my own father…" Xiba then smiled gently, "Master though…he was always good to me…even as a little kid I called him 'grandpa'." The girls smiled until he began to continue,

"As a child, when I thought there were monsters under my bed and I would frantically run to my father…he'd tell me to go to sleep and face my fears…but Master…he'd comfort me and tell me there's nothing to be afraid of…I remember he'd read me this series of stories sometimes to get me back to sleep." He smiled, "I can't remember the name, but I was obsessed with those books…I remember my favorite character was a boy who could talk to animals." He snickered,

"I wanted to be him so badly, so I pretended I was." He then went on, "Whenever my father didn't train me, I'd wander around the temple…and I came across this kitten one day." The two girls smiled, "It looked lonely so, I'd talk to it and pretend it was my friend…" he slowly began to frown, "I realize that…I cared about it so much because I was lonely too." The two girls began to worry, never seeing Xiba so sad before,

"Well, after a couple of days, I hadn't seen it because my dad made me train…but one day I saw it looked hungry, so I decided to get it some food. I grabbed some…meat or something the temple served and my father saw me…" he paused…his expression getting serious, "He asked me what I was doing and I said that I was getting food…then he said for what and I told him it was for my kitten."

There was a pause…the girls worried, "Well…he'd saw that I'd grown fond of it…but he told me that after he saw the cat, he realized it was rabid…" Though Xiba remembered it being very docile, "So…he kept me in the temple's rooms and my father…killed…my cat friend." He seemed to be staring at the wall; the girls were deeply saddened,

"I was…very upset about that."

Natsu understood what he meant by this particular story, "That was only the beginning, wasn't it?"

Xiba looked out the window… "Yeah…that was when I…I started to hate my father."

The three then decided they felt better about all of this and went to sleep, Xiba voluntarily choosing the floor to avoid an awkward situation with either one of the girls. Natsu prepared herself for the day to come…she'd be finding Taki.


	2. Three Holy Treasures

The birds sang a wonderful tune as Natsu was just about finished packing her things. She was waiting for the other two to finish eating and then brush their teeth before heading out. She paused, thinking of Cassandra's words, "Your mother was headed for Hungary the last time she was here…she was traveling with two companions; a man and a woman."

"Do you know why she was headed there?"

Cassandra nodded, "I'm not sure; she's always been out and about fighting demons…she seemed to be so…cut off from the world though…like she doesn't feel there's any reason in living other than doing her job."

Natsu feared Taki would be gone by the time she'd reach the Holy Roman Empire; then what? Just keep searching aimlessly? "Hey." Pyrrha was leaned against the door frame, her long legs crossed over each other,

"Oh, good morning Pyrrha."

She walked in, "So…this is it huh?" Natsu was puzzled,

"This is what?"

Pyrrha looked rather solemn, "You know…goodbye…adieu."

Natsu stood up from her pack, "No…this isn't goodbye…I'm sure one day we'll see each other again." Pyrrha pursed her lips, nodding at the false hope. Natsu sighed, grimacing herself, "Oh…well, it doesn't _have _to be goodbye; it can just be a…see you later or…take care?"

Pyrrha giggled, "You're sweet…" She stopped for a second; Natsu was confused; Pyrrha suddenly grabbed her and forcefully pulled her down onto the floor with her, directly below the window. She had a look of fright. Pyrrha smacked her hand over Natsu's mouth, holding her tightly. They heard a flock of feathers flap their way to the window, landing on the edge. This was no ordinary crow; it was a watcher…one of Tira's. There was silence…a very long and dreadful one as they held their breath, waiting for it to leave.

The watcher then grew satisfied with finding nothing and flew off, calling out to the others. The two ladies stood up, looking through the window, "Pyrrha…" no response, "Are you sure you want me to go?"

"Don't worry about me…It's you I'd worry about." She was capable of fighting Tira off, but Natsu and the others were so young; and they'd never experienced the kind of torture she had. Leixia stepped into the room,

"Alright! We're ready!" she felt the serious atmosphere drift in, Pyrrha grabbed one of each of their shoulders,

"Listen to me…if Tira, Nightmare, or any servant of Soul Edge tries to hurt you…" she slid her hands off of them, suddenly grabbing Ten Feet of Blue from Leixia's scabbard, "You will NOT go down without a fight!" She handed the Jian back to its owner…unable to take her words nothing less than seriously.

"We…we won't." Natsu reassured, now realizing how much more in danger the three were. Especially now that the wicked sword's minions knew of their existence. After a long goodbye, the three were headed northwest now.

It was rather surreal how one minute they were in a populated and crowded town, then in another they were in an unknown, uninhabited forest. It was a pattern that took getting used to; as well as the strange looks from the European citizens. Natsu was used to standing out; meanwhile, Leixia was so used to blending in…it was strange. On the third note, Xiba hadn't been surrounded by this many people ever, except his 16th birthday at the succession ceremony. It was the night he received Kali-Yuga. A night he couldn't forget…unfortunately.

Somewhere in Hungary, in the backwoods of a nearby town, the wind blew. A woman had her eyes closed, singing for the blowing leaves.

_Sakura no Hana wa Itsu Hiraku  
Yama no Osato ni Itsu Hiraku…_

She wore a magenta body suit, she had her long dark brown hair pulled into a slick ponytail, and she had armor on her arms, and legs.

_Sakura no Hana wa Itsu Niou  
Warau nana no ko Asobu Koro…_

She looked into the sky, her face with stunning oriental beauty,

_Sakura no Hana wa Itsu Kuchiru  
Shinda nana no ko Noboru Koro…_

The woman opened her eyes…seeing a pale blue sky above her. A man of the same Japanese origin approached her; he bore many scars including a bullet wound, "Jeez…could you sing a more depressing song?" the song ended with a young child dying, causing the cherry blossoms to wilt.

The ninja smacked the man, "Shut up, I like that song."

"Hey, Mitsurugi!" Another woman with a deep voice called, she opened up her parasol as she stepped out into the sun, "Ditching training are we?" Mitsurugi groaned,

"I told you…we agreed to hold off on the training until the weather cools down." The woman, spinning the umbrella laughed; her name was Setsuka,

"Aw…afraid of a little sweat are we?"

"That's enough you two." Their leader proclaimed, "We're here because of the rumors that Soul Edge is being repaired…" she wielded two swords on her back, they were the same type of swords as Natsu's, "We're going to remain casual, and question anyone who brings up the wicked being."

"But Taki…" Mitsurugi objected, "I thought we agreed on looking for the elements to remake Soul Calibur."

Taki nodded, "That's no good…one of the elements was destroyed nearly 25 years ago…only two remain."

Setsuka tightened the bolt that kept her sword hidden in her silk parasol, "Well, where do you think they are?"

The three decided to take refuge and rest in Serbia, closer to Hungary than they were before. They sat down on a bench in a small, busy town. It reminded Natsu of the towns outside of Fu Ma no Sato…only different traits and different attractions. "Is it me, or does it feel like this is taking us longer than the last time we went to Hungary?" Xiba moaned.

Leixia couldn't agree more, "He's right…we've been traveling for days without stopping but to take power naps…" The most sleep she'd gotten since they left Greece was 20 minutes. Her copper eyes were starting to gain dark circles.

Natsu could barely keep awake herself, "I know, I know…that's why we're gonna spend the night here…" her two friends looked at her suspiciously, "The _whole _night." The Chinese Washus sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness." Leixia could finally get some 'beauty sleep'. Natsu reached into her bag, looking for more coins…that's when she realized she was broke. She gasped, hastily digging around to see if they were hidden somewhere.

"What's wrong?" Leixia hoped it wasn't something stupid like forgetting her hair brush,

"I'm out of money!" she closed the bag, "How am I supposed to buy us food?" Leixia stood up,

"What? Now how are we supposed to stay somewhere?" As the two girls grew panicked, Xiba unwrapped the small bag on his rod and looked into it,

"Hey guys?" they were lost in chatter, "Guys…I have this." they looked to see…nothing more than tiny rice pieces pure gold in his hand. They were more flabbergasted by the gold rather than relieved he had money,

"Xiba…is that real gold?" Natsu had never seen it in her life.

"Yeah. Edge Master gave it to me in case of an emergency, they're priceless."

"No way…" Natsu couldn't believe it he gave it to him just like that? "How'd he get it?"

Xiba shrugged, "Beats me…I guess after all these years of training warriors he had to get paid somehow. Master said that this was only a small portion of what he's got."

Leixia was stunned…so Xiba was talented… and now technically he was rich? And he was unaware of it? "So, we're good to go!" He dipped the small chunks of gold back into the bag and tied it around Kali-Yuga, strapped tightly against his back.

Natsu pondered this, "Okay so Xiba has gold…" she looked at Leixia's pendant with the peculiar blue stone, "Leixia, what about your necklace?" she quickly covered it with both hands,

"Fat chance! This is the Dvapara-Yuga! My brother gave it to me!" Suddenly eyes turned to them…something Leixia had said caught the attention of a few men. Meanwhile, Natsu didn't understand the values,

"So wait, you have the Dvapara-Yuga, Xiba has the Kali-Yuga-" she pointed to Xiba, drawing attention to him and his staff now. "What's with these things anyway?" An abnormally tall man tapped Leixia's shoulder,

"Excuse me miss? Would you mind me taking a peak at that pretty necklace?" Leixia backed away,

"Uh, ABSOLUTELY!"

"Hey!" They heard Xiba yell from behind, someone slipped the rod out of his sash; he tried to grab it back from them,

"I just want to see it!" A girl claimed; he didn't like the look in her eyes, "What is it?" Xiba kicked her, provoking her to let go,

"I'll tell you what it isn't; it isn't yours!" The man prodding Leixia suddenly grew violent, tugging at the pendant, the metal string dug into her neck as she thrashed and throttled to get away,

"LET ME SEE THAT THING!"

"NO!"

Natsu whipped out Awayuuki and sliced the man's hand open, causing him to let go. As he screamed in pain, Natsu alerted the other two to run. "Into the woods! Go!" They slid through metal bars that kept animals from leaving the forest. The man and woman stared off at the general direction they'd ran full of hate.

"Damn it! I told you this wouldn't work!" The woman was Tira, using Soul Edge's energy to disguise herself; her true voice came back in motion. The man was Astaroth, simply using the body of another man.

"Humph…that girl is weak…but those are the only two elements remaining…we'll take it from them by force if we have to."

Tira tried to get back into a low profile, "How about this…why don't I go to Osthreinsburg and deal with the boss, and you go to Denevér and you figure something else with those…reptiles of yours."

Astaroth hated it when she referred to them as reptiles, "Hey, they're brutal killers…just you wait and see what they can do…" The two parted ways, letting their plan pan out.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

The three had raced deep in the woods, heavily unsettled, "So, what the hell did they want with my staff?"

"And my necklace?"

"I don't know! I'm trying to think!" Natsu paced back and forth in front of the two, she tried to stop herself but couldn't "Ugh, those are _your _belongings! Don't you have any idea what they are?"

Xiba sighed, "Well, according to my father, the Kali-Yuga is one of three sacred treasures." He held up his staff, "This thing can absorb energy, good or bad…That's all I know."

"Okay…and what about yours…the…Dva…Dapar…"

"Dvapara-Yuga. I guess it's another one of the sacred treasures…" she turned to Xiba, "Didn't your father say something about this?"

"If he did, I wasn't listening." He bluntly admitted.

"Okay but…these are two out of three sacred Yuga things…" Natsu wasn't in the mood for being 'formal' "Obviously when together they make _something_."

As they began to think, Xiba remembered Edge Master telling him something. He remembered specifically being told this while recovering from horrible injuries in an infirmary, "Master told me that this was one of the weapons used to destroy the second half of Soul Edge…but then after that only one sword could be used to destroy it-"

"Soul Calibur!" Of course! Natsu remembered these tales of Chie.

"So…you're saying that my necklace and his weapon are parts of Soul Calibur?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying…so…Pyrrha's warning was right; they _are _after us."

"Hey!" A strong voice called. They looked over to see a Japanese samurai staring at them, "Who are you?"


	3. Old Wounds

**Souls_&_Swords: Sorry for posting so many chapters at once! I've been on a roll. Hehe…**

The adolescents stood there, unresponsive, the Japanese samurai became more aggressive, "Hey! I said who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" Leixia bounded forward, Natsu could only stare…another Japanese man in Serbia? "You're the one who intruded on us!"

The Samurai put his sword away, "Hey, I'm just trying to be of assistance to you-"

Setsuka approached, beaming his back with the end of her parasol, "Shut it Mitsurugi! What he meant in his own rude way was what's a couple of kids doing alone in the woods?" She came across much gentler than this guy. She dressed oriental, but her face certainly hindered that thought.

"We're just…you know, hiking." Leixia smiled, not wanting any other 'bargains'. Xiba smiled,

"Have a nice day!" he pleaded in his head they'd leave. Setsuka looked at the odd trio. They were all Asian…she took a look at Natsu, who was still staring in awe,

"Hm…where are you from, ponytails?"

Natsu shook her head, "Oh…Japan."

The two were shocked, Setsuka felt she found someone she was on common grounds with; born in Japan, but looked nothing like it. "Japan huh? That makes two of us."

"Three, actually." She sneered at her friendly rival.

"What about you two?" Mitsurugi pointed with his sword,

"Take a good guess…" Leixia moaned. She didn't want to be involved with anyone else, why did Natsu have to be so…nice?

"Hey! You two!" Taki approached the crowd, the three stared in awe of the trio in front of them; it reminded them of themselves. "Did you hear the people talking? They're saying someone found two of the sacred treasures and tried to steal them!" They tensed up. Not again…can't they meet a normal family for once?

"So you think we're close to Soul Edge's minions?" the geisha looking woman guessed.

"Probably, they'd destroy any opportunity that threatened the evil sword." Natsu looked at Taki intensely, she intellectually believed it was her…that she'd finally found her…but emotionally…she was appalled and too afraid to ask.

Taki didn't recognize the body suit, but something about the girl looked familiar as she flinched upon seeing her. "Ah…who are they?"

Natsu was in shock; it was her! Her mother! At least she thought…she couldn't be too sure just yet! Just ask her name…simple as that…

"I'm Leixia; this is Xiba, monkey boy…." Xiba proudly took the nickname as a compliment, "And this is-"

"Leixia!" Natsu yelled out interrupting her. Her heart was beating furiously. For all she knew, this wasn't even her mother…why couldn't she speak out right to her…it was too difficult. Her companions stared at her confused,

Setsuka wasn't too sure either, "You're…also Leixia?"

"No! I mean…" She was entranced by Taki just as she was with her. Taki looked at the girl, scanning her body…she had her eyes…her hair…she was probably the age she'd be right now. 17, she thought in her head, having kept track all this time. Natsu stopped herself when she saw Taki look sad. "Um…"

"That's fine." Mitsurugi interrupted the 'shy' girl who was actually to awestruck to speak. "Look, it's not very safe around here, so why don't you come with us?"

Leixia nodded, "We're fine!" She whipped out her sword, "We're trained and ready for anything!" Xiba pushed her sword out of his face,

"Yeah, you were very _ready _for that guy trying to take your necklace." He noted, in fact…he'd never seen Leixia try to fight back anything so far he'd been with them.

She blushed angrily. Natsu nodded, "It's true though…" she slid Kuzukiri and Awayuuki out of their sheaths, only showing the handles, "We've got weapons, and we've been trained by some of the greatest warriors in Asia."

_Those swords…_ Taki thought. She was in just as much shock and fright as Natsu. Though she reminded herself, dual kodachi were common in Japan. Heck, she still wielded Rekki-Maru and Mekki-Maru. "Well look, we're setting up camp nearby. You three should stay with us in case something else happens."

Setsuka smiled, "We have rice balls."

The three could go for anything, "I'm in!" Leixia cheerfully yelled. She couldn't seem to figure out why Natsu was so entranced…she didn't once question the possibility of Taki. Natsu walked behind Setsuka, still consciously afraid to get near the ninja woman.

"By the way, I love your hair." She complimented, Natsu only grinned. Leixia on the other hand sulked,

"Nobody ever compliments my hair…" she said, straightening her Celestial Maiden hairdo. Xiba smirked,

"Leixia, you have lovely hair."

"You don't count!" She bitterly replied. Xiba smiled, oh how he enjoyed teasing the short-tempered girl. It was a childish pleasure.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

A small circle was made around a camp fire. Even though it was hours later, Taki and Natsu had yet to say a word to each other…though they were deeply entranced. Natsu was too shy and in shock, while Taki was in disbelief of the possibility. Xiba and Leixia remained clueless.

The bickering between Mitsurugi and Setsuka was quite amusing for the teenagers. Especially since Setsuka won most of the time. Even though Taki looked deep in thought about something else, Natsu just couldn't find the courage to speak up…she couldn't cry either, even though the thought that she'd found her mother made her want to.

But this woman…she looked fairly young to be a mother…especially of an almost 18 year old. The emotional and mental pressure caused her shoulder to ache. She ignored it and simply smacked her hand over the seal, as if telling the thing to knock it off.

"So…what brings you three all the way here?" Mitsurugi finally asked,

Natsu gulped, Taki was paying much attention, "Oh um…we…ah…well Leixia, why don't you tell them why you're with us? Huh?" She forced a smile. Leixia raised a confused brow,

"Uh…okay? I ran away from my home, mainly because my mother couldn't understand me."

The word mother hit home for both Taki and Natsu. Though, Taki could show it less with the amount of time her daughter had died. "What about you, kid?" Mitsurugi muttered to Xiba,

"Well…I'm just-"

"His dad treated him like dirt, so he came with us." Leixia blurted out. Xiba gave her an angry look; he really didn't need strangers knowing his personal life.

"Leixia!" He grumbled through his teeth.

"Hey…" Taki interrupted, "It's getting late, so why don't we all get some rest." Natsu wanted to cry…if this was her…she was so beautiful… "After all, we have _a lot_ to do tomorrow." She exclaimed to Mitsurugi, she'd been picking on him for 24 years; it never got old.

He sighed, sadly used to it, "Of course we do…" Setsuka poured water into the fire, bringing darkness to the night.

The three were a few feet away from the adults, they all sat wide awake, Leixia and Natsu talking, and Xiba pouting at a tree nearby; he was unusually annoyed with Leixia. He clenched his fist holding the Kali-Yuga. It was close to cracking!

"You guys…" Natsu whispered, Xiba turned around and Leixia looked closely, "I…I think that woman with the two swords is my mother." That got their attention; Xiba scooted into the circle,

"You think so?"

"I think so…that's why I've been so afraid…"

Leixia didn't understand, "What's to be afraid of?"

"What if she's not? And if she is…I didn't expect to be this afraid to speak out…she thinks I've been dead for the past fourteen years."

"Well, it's not the first time in this world someone's come back from the dead." Xiba wasn't kidding either. Natsu held her head in her palm, she'd never felt more conflicted in her life. Leixia smiled,

"It'll be okay Natsu. I promise." Her words went through one ear and out the other, as she stood up, walking away from the camp site. "Hey, Natsu?"

"I'm just going to go think…" she assured before walking off into darkness. Now it was just the two Chinese practioneres. Xiba then felt the need to bring something up,

"Leixia?" She looked at him, "Stop being so open to people." He bluntly commanded.

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, he hated being serious, "I don't like opening up to people I've just met…nor do I like being reminded that my father was a jerk." Leixia realized her impulsiveness betrayed her; she slapped her hands over her mouth,

"Oh God, Xiba, I-"

"It's fine. I'm just letting you know." Leixia eased up; he was so…laid-back. That's when she noticed how tightly he was squeezing his weapon.

"Xiba…if you're mad at me you can say so." She felt like she deserved it. Xiba's amber eyes glistened with both relief that she understood, yet confusion at how she could see through him,

"I'm not mad at _you_ Leixia. How's that?" He raised his voice a little, standing up to walk away. That's when Leixia grew infuriated, standing up,

"Hey!" he turned around with a look of irritation, "Then who are you mad at? You can tell me!"

"No, I can't!" he hated arguing…but there was so much pent up aggression that sometimes he needed to let it out.

Leixia balled her hands into fists, "Why not?"

He was caught in the ropes as he paused, "I…I just can't!" Xiba then turned around to walk away,

"That's not a reason!" she stepped closer, trying to get him to open up, "If you say we're your friends then why do you push us away?" He stopped, he was clearly listening, "We trust you and open up to you…you haven't judged us or abandoned us…" her voice toned down, she'd gotten through to him, "We promise…we won't abandon you." Silence returned as she waited for a response, a sigh, anything really.

Xiba turned around, back to his usual goofy yet serious attitude, "It's not that I don't trust you…like I said it…it's too hard to talk about…" He tried to fine a metaphorical way to say it, "I guess it makes old wounds ache…" it was both literal and metaphorical.

"What did your father do to you?" Even though she'd seen the basis and his first childhood pain, she knew there was something else. His heart skipped a few beats just thinking about it.

"Do you really want to know?" Leixia nodded, "Sit down." They sat across from each other, Xiba was leaned back against a tree, looking up through the branches, "Let's see, it was about three months ago, on my birthday…April 20th." Leixia now understood why he didn't want to talk; it wasn't long ago at all,

"Even though I cared about was turning 16…my father told me it was time for the succession ceremony…in which a warrior receives one of three sacred treasures. Hopefully you know what I got." He tried to throw in a bit of humor, making Leixia smile. Whenever Xiba got uncomfortable in a situation, he joked around about it,

"Anyway…it was so crowded at the temple, you wouldn't believe, all of these monks and previous trainers there…and of course myself, father, and Master were there." Xiba could replay everything in his head with the blink of an eye,

He began to tell her of when a boy was looking at the Kali-Yuga. It wasn't his place nor his to touch. After Kilik found him with it, he decided to punish him by forcing him to fight in the tournament weaponless against Xiba.

"It wasn't fair…"

Leixia's eyes widened.

"It wasn't fair! He didn't have any weapons or…he didn't even threaten us in the first place! He just made a mistake!" he calmly vented. He began to continue, how all of the monks and his two masters were watching from the crowd above him. Xiba threw down his rod,

"I won't do it."

The crowd was in shock, as he yelled out his anger and how he was chained to his father's wrist. That was when Kilik entered the arena with his own rod. "Xiba, pick up your weapon." The crowd was more intense than ever. Xiba didn't want to fight his father. He begged him no. That's when Kilik swung his rod forward and Xiba barely blocked it, stumbling to the left.

"Come on! Show this dictator what you've got!" It was out of spite Xiba explained, as he began to tell the details of how he didn't even try, despite every single broken bone he'd received from his father. Xiba stood in a fighting stance, quite a distance away,

"Father, please! You can't make me fight you!" He stood up right, lowering the weapon, "I know you're angry at me for telling the truth…but I couldn't hold it in anymore. I had to do what was right." The swordsman wasn't touched. His own son's words didn't faze him.

"Well then fight me if you must!" He alluded to doing what was right, all Xiba did was block rather than strike. But at one point, he was about to be shoved into a cement wall and he pushed his rod forward, stretching it out forcefully. Kilik was knocked 5 feet away. He heard the monks chatter, he could feel their eyes watching him.

Kilik stood up, "Is that all?" he yelled, darting toward Xiba, who was now ready to fight, ignited with rage. The two's staffs clanged and banged into each other's skin and bones, they weren't even moving around the arena at one point. Just standing in front of each other fighting eye to eye.

That's how personal it was.

At one point, Xiba thought he'd caught his father off guard as he wobbled in place, _Got him! _He thought, then a sudden flash of numbness struck his cheek. All Xiba remembered after that was rolling on the stone floor, dropping Kali-Yuga. He tasted metal as he suddenly coughed up blood. "Is this all you can give me?" Kilik abused, "MY SON? All he can give me is this?"

Xiba stood up with his staff in hand. Aside from feeling on the right side of his face, something else was wrong, his lower back was broken. At least nearly broken. It must've been the force of the fall. Flames brewed in his eyes as he rushed towards his father, letting out a fury cry. He thrusted and shoved the Kali-Yuga at his father, getting angrier and angrier each time he blocked it.

Suddenly everything froze…even time. Xiba couldn't move. He looked down to see his father's staff on his chest, where his heart was. It didn't impale his flesh but it did something…out of nowhere he felt a bullet fire in his chest as he spit up blood violently on the ground. Kilik backed away as Xiba fell to his hands and knees. His heart ached, literally.

He felt another gunshot in his chest as his body violently retched more blood. He breathed heavily, Kilik nodded, "Alright…have you made your point? You go against the temple's ways, you get punished." He was about to leave the injured boy there to suffer, but Xiba wasn't finished,

"HEY!" he wiped the blood from his lip. Kilik turned around, Edge Master worried,

"This isn't brave…this is murder." He said aloud to himself. Kilik wasn't right…he'd never do this to his own son…not without the Dvapara-Yuga…

Xiba had to use his weapon to lift himself, holding it into the ground and leaning heavily into it, "I'm not…" he breathed, "I'm not finished yet." Kilik sneered,

"Yes you are, you can barely stand."

Xiba looked at him with rage, "I…" he had to breathe heavily otherwise he'd suffocate, "I won't lose…especially to no father of mine." He bitterly commented. Kilik wasn't impressed, he only stared at the boy, he lifted his staff,

"Alright, give me your best." He mocked. Xiba wasn't going to die…he wouldn't let himself, despite he'd never been so scared in his life. His heart was going to give out…that he knew. But only if he let it. He fought both internally and externally.

But then another bullet fired through his heart. Xiba dropped Kali-Yuga as he fell to hands and knees. He coughed and vomited blood. It was painful. He was frightened. Edge Master was as well, "Why doesn't Kilik…" he grew angry, standing up, "KILIK! CAN'T YOU SEE YOUR SON'S SUFFERING? HELP HIM!"

Xiba was breathing heavily, the only thing he could do. His vision blurred as all he could see were colors of objects. The only detail he could trace was his father, he gave in… forfeiting the match he held out his hand. Kilik raised a brow, Edge Master was stunned. "Dad…" he moaned, his voice barely recognizable from the pain, he kept his hand held out, even as he couldn't trace out Kilik anymore,

"Please…I don't know what's happening to me-" Edge Master was suddenly in front of him,

"Kilik!" There wasn't a response, "What has come over you?" the Master was turned away as Kilik exited the coliseum, he turned around and looked down at Xiba to help him up, he was collapsed…no movement from his body, not even a breath. "SOMEONE GET HELP!" The monks went to go alert the temple's infirmary, Edge Master knelt down, turning Xiba over onto his back,

"Xiba!" he tapped his cheek a couple of times, "Xiba! Take a breath!" But he wasn't there. Not in the land of the living anyway. He put his ear to his chest, "He's in cardiac arrest!" he yelled, "HURRY!"

"SOMEONE!"


	4. Family

**Souls_&_Swords: A notice ahead of time: I'll be restarting school in a week, so I may go from posting daily to posting weekly. Just a heads up to my wonderful viewers and subscribers. =) Also, really let me know what you thought of this chapter, how I've been doing with the characters and such.**

Leixia was lost…she just couldn't understand how someone could hurt their own child…not even _her _mother would try to kill her like that. Xiba had said enough, he looked at a tree nearby as if there was something interesting written on it, "Xiba…" she was at a loss of words as well, "I'm so sorry."

"What's funny though…" he tried to get back into his usual mood, "Is that the entire 28 days I was in the hospital...Edge Master was the only one to come and see me." He was in a coma for _that _long? Was Kilik _truly _trying to kill him? He smiled for some odd reason as he said this, trying to keep from being too serious, "My dad didn't even visit me once. In fact, the first thing he said to me after I got out was," he deepened his voice, "Son, new training sessions begin tomorrow! Be at the arena at dawn!"

Xiba's grin was worrying Leixia; she just accepted that it was his personality to not express emotions like that…she wanted to get off of the subject for his sake, "Um…" she noticed the small necklace he had on, it looked like it was embedded with small beads, "So…that's a cool necklace." He was confused until he remembered,

"Oh yeah, this was also my mother's." he flicked one of the beads, Leixia smiled,

"I think it's wonderful that even though you don't remember her, you still love her." Considering he was only babbling and toddling around by the time she was dead. Xiba tried to keep in high spirits,

"Well, it's not the whole 'love' thing to be honest…I don't even remember what she looked like or her voice…" He couldn't masquerade anymore as he grew solemn, "It's…the possibilities of the life I could've had if she were around." Leixia only felt worse and worse with everything she said,

"What did she die of?"

"Typhus." Leixia gasped, "And since I was too young to look out for myself at our home at the foot of the mountain, father just…made me live up there at the temple." He explained. "I never considered it 'home' though." Xiba tried to maintain a joyful mood in order to keep from venting or breaking down. Leixia could see through him and that this was only making it worse.

She decided to drop the conversation completely, the overwhelming sound of crickets hinted that it was time for them to rest anyway. Natsu was only as compelled as ever; she knew she must have a strong will to keep from bursting to tears and hugging the stranger ninja asleep in front of her. "Why didn't I just ask her name?" she whined to herself.

Natsu attempted to give herself the benefit of doubt, "It probably isn't her; I mean, we look nothing alike…though, I don't anything like people in Asia anyway…" Damn it. She began to think in her head, "Okay…just practice. So…what's your name? Taki? Oh my gosh! I'm Natsu; your daughter who you thought was dead…"

That would never work.

Maybe sleeping on it would do the trick…that's when she thought about how she'd scratched at her shoulder the other night…wait, maybe if she somehow managed to show her the seal, she'd be able to find out if it was her or not! That probably wouldn't work either.

She looked at Taki one last time before lying down on her side, "Just let it come naturally, I guess." Those were her final thoughts before falling asleep, though it took her nearly an hour to do so.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Taki heard a knock at her door. She could see the figure of a man through it. She grew angry, "What do you want with her?" she called out to the figure,

"Bring her to me!"

She had no weapons, so all she could do was rely on her strength alone, "Are you going to hurt her?" She yelled manically, as she stepped closer to the door and slid it open, Taki blinked her eyes once or twice, realizing she was back in reality. The beams of sun through the trees and the sounds of early birds showed that it was early dawn.

It was the golden hour, the first hour of sunlight. Taki always enjoyed being awake for this. That's when she thought about the dream; it'd been a while since she dreamt about Natsu…especially an intense one like that. Her favorite ones were when she'd hear her daughter cheerfully calling her name from the other room. Though it always made Taki seldom since she'd wake up right before she could see her little girl.

Taki told no one of her pain, only Chie was the one to know. In fact, her two partners hadn't a clue that she was married and had a child. She looked to her left to see the ginger-blonde teen asleep next to her. She was breathing softly. Taki had no doubt that she was from Fu Ma no Sato, alluding to her attire and dual kodachi.

Her peculiar hair and eye color kept making her question her sanity; had her child risen from the dead? Not only did she have the look but she almost perfect in age. Taki had kept track each year; this August would make her 18 years old. Taki could only feel her heart break at the fact she'd missed out on all of those years with her daughter.

The sun rose high into the sky, the group was now fully awake and in a circle, Leixia had asked Natsu if she'd found out whether this was her mother or not; no response. It seemed she'd lost her tongue completely. "Okay, Mitsurugi, Setsuka, since the event yesterday with the two sacred treasures, the sword's servants are probably still in town somewhere. So we'll split up and keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Taki looked at the adolescents, "But first, we're going to get you three somewhere safe."

"What?" The only word Natsu managed to exclaim since questioning Taki. Leixia was annoyed,

"You don't have to worry about us; we can take care of ourselves." She looked over at Xiba, who was hanging upside down from a tree, which he climbed out of boredom, "MOST of us can take care of ourselves."

Natsu forced herself to speak up, "No, it's true; these two are very talented fighters, why, Xiba over there was trained by Edge Master himself!"

"Edge Master?" Mitsurugi and Setsuka both exclaimed. Xiba heard everything,

"That's right!" the branch broke and he yelped as he fell out of the tree. Natsu became fretful,

"Okay, bad example." She was really hoping Xiba would get to reaffirm that statement later, "But, I was trained by him too…I also have supernatural powers." Taki stared at her intensely,

"Powers?"

She shied up a bit, "Um, yes. Like, manipulating the energy throughout my body, teleporting, you know…" she trailed off as Xiba wobbled over, rubbing his head,

"I've seen what she can do, the girl does not lie." He excitedly assured. Natsu felt more confident with her friends backing her up,

"And Leixia's amazing! Her father is a war general!" Leixia didn't mean to brag, but,

"You are looking at the Junior Lieutenant of the Ming Empire." She eyed Xiba, awaiting his compliment, "Heh…and though he doesn't act like it, Xiba's got some pretty sweet moves as well."

While they were generally impressed by how skilled they were at such young ages, Setsuka wasn't so sure, "I'm sure you're all very capable, but with rumors of the evil sword's return, we don't want to take any chances." Leixia just couldn't keep it together,

"What?" she surprised the adults, "Just because we're young you think we're in any more danger than you three?" her chest was filled with heat, "We're more than just teenagers, we're warriors! In fact," Oh no, "Xiba is the wielder of the Kali-Yuga." Xiba tensed up as the adults were stunned by the fact, "And I have the Dvapara-" Natsu and Xiba quickly slapped each of their hands over her mouth. Natsu forced a laugh,

"Ha! Good one Leixia…making them think you hold something valuable and sacred…HAHA!"

Xiba could only smile nervously, "Such a kidder!" Leixia yet again realized her error. The three were still appalled, Taki grew stern,

"Let me see them."

She observed the rod and pendant carefully, "Huh…so these are them?" she handed them back to their owners, "Well, this changes everything then."

"It does?" Oh no, Mitsurugi did _not _want to babysit.

"Of course…since they have what they're after, all we have to do is lure them to us and catch them in a trap." Natsu gasped as Leixia and Xiba didn't like this, Xiba giggled,

"Heh, that's funny. One minute you want us safe, the next you want to threaten our lives…Hehe." Taki smirked, crossing her arms. She meant what she said. Xiba stopped himself, "Well, you know what they say, ladies first!"

Leixia never imagined one day she'd be 'bait'. First things first, they had to make sure that the culprits were still in town. "Miss…I really don't see why we have to do this."

"They want any form of Soul Calibur destroyed, so I'm sure once they see you, they'll try to take that from you." Taki accompanied Leixia to the end of the woods; the others waited and prepared for a fight. "So if one of them catches you, just run!" she warned. Taki suddenly disappeared and reappeared in a tree above her, "I'll deal with them." She took out Rekki-Maru

Leixia breathed out, stepping out into the open. This was the spot where they were first attacked. She recognized the bench, which was occupied by an elderly couple. The girl presumed they'd left by now, though, the abnormally tall man was still in town, having to calculate his plans before he traveled to Hungary and alert his lizardmen.

Astaroth had it all settled out and was about to part with the country and meet up with Tira. Then he noticed Leixia, her blue stoned necklace caused a glare in the sun. She was looking around nervously. Astaroth had a second chance. How foolish could the girl be…too foolish. Something had to be up, but a golem of his strength didn't need to worry. Leixia recognized the man and winced in fear, she saw his gaze and began to slowly back away towards the wooded area,

"Miss!" She whispered as loudly as possible, "Miss!" she looked down at the girl, "I see him. He's," she looked back to see him rushing towards her, as she began to turn to run away, she tripped on the roots of a tree. She'd scraped her knee as she continued to blitz away.

As the man entered the forests perimeters, Taki was in front of him, blasting him with bursts of energy from her palms. The town was now frantic as Taki jumped on top of Astaroth, who's true hideous form was revealed, "Remember me?" She smiled, having battled him sometime in the last 20 years. She back flipped off of him, allowing him to stand; he hoisted his axe, which he'd kept hidden with Soul Edge's energy,

"Why would I? You're just like the rest of them!" As they engaged in battle, Leixia had made it back to the group, exhausted, Natsu quickly aided her,

"Leixia! Are you okay?"

"I think so…the woman's still back there though." Setsuka looked at the bloody mess on her knee,

"That's not a pretty cut though." Leixia then noticed something,

"Hey lady…where's your weapon?" Setsuka smiled, she turned the end of her parasol, the gang heard a 'click!' she slowly slid the end of the umbrella out, revealing a thin, long sword. They didn't see that coming, Xiba was aghast,

"Jeez, how much did _that _cost?" Setsuka raised a brow and smiled. That's when they heard rapid sounds come from all around them. They quickly formed a circle facing outward, holding their weapons. Xiba sighed, "I've always wanted to be in a kill circle."

"Was that sarcasm?" Natsu noted, unsure due to how serious he sounded. Suddenly she heard something land in front of her, Taki revealed herself back to being visible. The 'kill circle' disbanded, she was bruised and battered though she put up quite the fight,

"Taki!" Setsuka shouted, rushing to her side with Mitsurugi, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, that freak's strengthened up over the years."

Natsu was about to approach her…then it hit her… _"Taki!" _Setsuka had shouted…she was now in her own little world, consisting of nothing but shock and happiness all at once, her two friends noticed her stunned look, "Mother…" she cried in her head, she now looked at Taki in a completely different way, "Mother…I…I found you." She began to cry in reality, but heavy footsteps caused a halt for the moment.

A large, disturbing creature came charging in an animal-like nature and rammed into Natsu, alarming everyone in the area. She was knocked at least 10 feet away, rolling and bouncing violently. "Hey!" Xiba yelled, getting into a battle stance, "You'll pay!" Astaroth wasn't amused as he turned his attention to Natsu; perhaps he'd make this fun and finish off the girl he'd just rammed. Leixia kicked the back of his leg,

"Hey! Didn't you hear him? You'll pay!" The giant turned around, he'd caught a glimpse of Leixia's fear just before she mustered an angry look. Her knees and hands were shaking. He laughed,

"Humph, you think I'm afraid of a little maggot like you?" He looked at the two; they had what he was looking for. As he went to swing his axe, Setsuka had leapt up and slashed him, throwing off his aim. The two Chinese warriors ducked, avoiding the axe and Xiba back lashed him. The force of it caused Astaroth to stumble forward; Leixia then took advantage that he was now closer to her height and swiftly slashed into his hip.

Natsu got back on her hands and knees, she coughed; she felt the recognizable taste of blood as she looked over to see the action. She bounded to her feet and rushed over, Taki had thrown herself onto his shoulders and cut into his throat, yet the golem wouldn't give in. As he kept getting back up.

"Is this thing even mortal?" Mitsurugi yelled.

"Of course! It just takes some patience!" Taki leapt forward, throwing herself in the air kicking him back. Natsu went to whip out her sword, but that's when she noticed her mother taking matters into her own hands. As she watched she couldn't help but smile; she was proud to be the daughter of such a kick-ass woman. But Astaroth was deceiving, as he feigned weakness, he grabbed Taki's wrist in a vice-like grip, who was about to emit fire from her hands.

He was blocking the circulation as he swung her around like a rag doll and threw her against a tree. Natsu panicked as she rushed over to the crowd, Setsuka stopped her, "Hey you! Don't!" she feared the girl wasn't strong enough. She tried desperately to get out of her grip. Taki was trying to regain her strength but Astaroth used his boot to hold her down, he lifted his axe, Natsu's adrenaline was kicking in,

"NO! MOTHER!"

Mother? Taki looked over, "What?" Natsu kicked violently, not even realizing how hard it was, and rushed over in between the two. Using her energy and armor to block the axe. She was much stronger than before, and she thrusted the axe out of her face,

"I did NOT come all this way just to see my mother die!" Mitsurugi was confounded, she was a mother? Xiba and Leixia were too concerned to even be happy for her. The two adults wouldn't let them go forward however. Taki looked up at the girl in front of her…absolutely stupefied and dazed…

Natsu looked down at her mother, finally showing her a smile. Taki could still remember her little girl's smile…it was so contagious and distinctive…this was her daughter. "N-" she held her mouth agape, "Natsu…?" Astaroth was about to strike, Natsu _just _guarded it in the nick of time. Throwing herself in the air, flipping over him.

"Come on! Me and you!" she angrily challenged, Awayuuki tightly in her hand. Taki stood up, too astounded to focus on the situation. Astaroth felt cocky, she was like a bug compared to him.

"When I'm through, you'll be in my axe, squirming like a bug on a toothpick."

Leixia struggled to get out of Setsuka's grip, "NO!" But Natsu pulled through, she fought boldly, using everything Edge Master had taught her. However, she found herself to lift him and throw him, as when she tried she ended up falling backwards, causing both of them to topple over.

As they stood up, Astaroth was losing patience with this fight, "This is ridiculous…why don't you just lie down and let me cut you in half? It'll be much less painful than getting squashed." He sadistically recommended.

"Well, if that's the case…" Natsu caught him off guard and used more aerial attacks, but at one point he grabbed her ankle, she panicked as she was smashed into the ground twice and then tossed away.

"NATSU! NO!"

Taki looked at the torn Leixia, "Natsu…" this…this still couldn't be. Leixia still fought Setsuka, while Xiba had given up, being held in some sort of arm lock by Mitsurugi. He had faith in her though.

Natsu rose to her knees, the force of the throw caused her swords to fall out of their sheaths, she picked them both up. She caught her breath, "I'm out of ideas…" she mumbled in her head, "I can't do this…not even with my powers." Astaroth stood over her, she quickly stood up,

"Time to die!"

_Use _

_Me_

A sudden voice hissed. Natsu wasn't sure who's it was but it was almost hypnotizing. She raised her two kodachi, Astaroth took a step back, "Wait…what are you-" Natsu was enraged,

"Let's get serious…" She then let out all of her might with a battle cry and thrashed her swords into the ground. There was an earth quake like movement as the ground shook and the trees natural bobbing of the wind was disrupted. Though they were unseen by the eye, six energy blasts were ascended into the air, knocking Astaroth back and away from the girl.

The other five were overwhelmed with surprise and wonder. Xiba had his mouth agape, "You guys saw that too, right?" Leixia elbowed Setsuka, who was unsuspecting and rushed over to Natsu, who was farther away than she looked. She saw Astaroth and stopped, he was on the ground…his body seemed to be disintegrating to ash. Like little pieces of paper were chipping off and dissolving.

What had Natsu done? "Damn…you…" were the golem's last words. Leixia rushed over to her friend who was exhausted,

"Natsu?" she was entranced, not quite in reality, she shook her shoulders, "Natsu?" They suddenly heard a 'rip' as Natsu cried out in pain. Leixia comforted her, "It's okay!" Xiba had rushed,

"What happened?"

"Where does it hurt?"

"My shoulder! Jesus Christ it hurts so much!" she wailed, Leixia was able to lower the sleeve so she could see it, one of the 'petals' on her flower shaped birthmark was replaced with dripping blood.

"Natsu, it's fine; it's just a cut." Xiba assured her, trying to wipe the blood off, but it was so much more than that, Natsu felt like something had burst out of her flesh, tearing through her veins and organs to get to it.

"No it's not! No it's…" the pain suddenly ceased as she breathed in and out. Leixia firmly grasped her shoulders,

"Natsu?" she ignored her friends' concern until she heard Taki's voice,

"Natsu?" She looked up, her mother was only a few feet away, looking at her with awe, "Natsu…are you really-?" she had to stop, she could feel her emotions overflowing. Mitsurugi still didn't understand,

"Taki, are you telling me that you have a child?"

Leixia looked up in realization, "Taki?" Natsu gently pushed her away, standing up. Her two traveling buddies backed away to give them some room. Natsu was smiling, her eyes getting glassy and wet,

She sniffled, "M-Mommy." She childishly mumbled. Rather battered and beaten, she limped closer to the woman, "I've been…looking for you, mother." Just as Natsu thought she was going to calmly hug her, she ended up forgetting about her weak legs and sprinted towards Taki in hysterics, throwing herself into her arms, "MOTHER!"

"Natsu." Taki was more shocked than anything. Natsu didn't answer, burying her face into her shoulder. She held out her head, looking at her face, "Natsu…I thought I knew your face…" she let the tears of joy roll down as she embraced her tightly. Leixia and Xiba couldn't help but give warm smiles, as did Setsuka,

"How sweet." Mitsurugi still didn't understand,

"So…all this time, you had a kid?" Setsuka sneered. He always ruined moments like this.


	5. Departing

The six sat around in a circle, Taki still held Natsu in her arms. She'd told the painful story that she'd told no one before. Setsuka and Mitsurugi were bewildered at the horror; it was so haunting to believe a mother was forced to go through that pain, "So, not only did you have a kid, but you had a lover?"

"…How do you think I had the kid?" Taki chuckled, kissing Natsu's head. Leixia couldn't be happier for her friend,

"Well, it's a good thing we found you; we came so far. Natsu left on a journey just to find you." Taki let go of her daughter,

"That reminds me, Natsu, who took care of you all these years?"

"Oh, Chie."

The dark haired ninja was bowled over, "Chie?" Why didn't she say anything? Perhaps because of the clan's spies until she left.

"Yeah, she's the one who gave me your old bodysuit," she gestured to her attire, "And my swords." Natsu made clear. Leixia suddenly cringed and grabbed at her knee,

"What's wrong with you?" Xiba had been spaced out for the last 15 minutes, tired from all of the action.

"My knee started stinging all of the sudden." It was the knee she had scraped just before the battle.

Setsuka closed her umbrella, the sun was finally out of her face, "It might be infected." Taki approached her,

"I got it." She smiled, she put her hand over the cut, and a strange aurora like glow emitted from her palm. The three teenagers were quite fascinated by it. After about 10 seconds, the scrape was gone, leaving a small bruise-like spot.

"No way! It's gone!" The cute teenager cheered. She glided her hand across it, it was smooth as ever. Xiba was appalled; Edge Master couldn't even do that, though most of the temple's monks could.

"How'd you do that?"

"It's just part of my powers; I use them to heal. When I was raising Natsu, I worked as a medical ninja." That's when her daughter realized something,

"Wait, so do you think I could learn how to do that?"

"Any Fu Ma ninja can."

Mitsurugi crossed his arms, "Huh, not out here you can't; it seems any time Taki uses any type of ninjutsu, we attract predators."

"Which is why we're leaving." Taki noted. Natsu gasped; Xiba and Leixia looked at each other, leaving?

"Wait, mother? What do you mean leaving?" She'd just found her!

"Well, not leaving; we're retreating back to our home in Hungary." She smiled, "You're going to love it there."

"Eh?" Leixia didn't like what she was hearing, neither did Natsu,

"Oh…um…" Taki's smile faded,

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong…I mean, I'm excited to live with you and the others; but…" she turned around to see her friends, clearly upset. Natsu wasn't sure how to explain herself, she wanted to live with her mother…but asking to bring her friends would be a burden, Xiba could dissect her expression,

"We won't be mad at you if you choose to live with her…it's just sad to see you go." He honestly explained. Leixia wasn't as understanding though,

"It'll be horrible!" she welted up, Natsu grimaced in guilt, "The only person who understands me is leaving! You made me not regret running away!" Xiba raised a brow,

"You know, I have feelings too."

"You get what I'm saying!" she retaliated, "But…it's just…I don't know how I'll protect myself…" she heaved in her sorrow, "I'll be scared and alone!" She hugged herself, terrified that his would happen. Especially so far away. Natsu walked over to the poor girl,

"Leixia, you won't be alone."

"Yes I will…you're the only reason the three of us have stuck together." Xiba widened his eyes, now he understood why she was leaving him out of this,

"Leixia, you're not gonna be alone." He promised, she looked at him, her vision blurred from crying,

"Wait…I'm not?" she sniffled heavily, feeling her nose running.

"Of course not. I'll stick around in case you need someone." He grinned; his joy was contagious as Natsu smiled,

"And I promise, no matter where I go, we'll _always _be best friends." She hugged Leixia tightly, "And we'll definitely see each other again." Leixia buried her face into her shoulder, clutching onto Natsu's clothing,

"Do you mean it?" Natsu tear up, with a smile on her face,

"Of course I do." She let go, the adults behind them watched, Setsuka smiled at the sincerity of the adolescents. Natsu grew the courage to turn around and walk away with her mother. She tried not to look back; if she did, it'd be a waterworks party.

Xiba waved, "See you around!" how could he be so cheerful when Leixia was so sad? Natsu didn't turn her head, she only waved her hand in the air, acknowledging Xiba's departing message. He looked over to see Leixia was on her knees in tears again. Sympathetic, he knelt down, "You okay?"

She turned her head away, "I'll be fine." Xiba knew travelling would be too difficult at a time like this,

"You want to just…find a place to stay? Hang out here for a few days?" the blithe tone of his voice made Leixia a little more comforted, she lifted her head up and nodded.

"Sure…"

Meanwhile, in a large castle many countries away, Tira was alerted the news from Soul Edge; she learned of Astaroth's death. Though, this didn't affect her emotionally, this sure made the plans more difficult. She stood outside of the shadows where the collected pieces of Soul Edge were gathered,

"This is proof…that even without all three of the sacred treasures… Soul Calibur is still in power." Soul Edge moaned in an inhuman voice. Tira scratched her chin, VERY displeased,

"I bet it was that stupid girl with that stupid necklace!" She angrily clutched her ring blade, nearly cutting into her hand, the sword's eye widened,

"Do you know of the girl's origins?"

"She was definitely Asian…but they were down near Denevér…who knows where they could be? And the boy with the Kali-Yuga was with her."

Soul Edge had memories of the sacred treasures, "Both of their original wielders were Chinese, if I do recall." Tira suddenly perked up,

"Yeah…so all I have to do is go down there and pay them a visit!" She giggled. Soul Edge was ignited with fury,

"And what if they're not there!"

"Oh please! I've travelled enough to know how long it would take to get out of the area." She rubbed her hands as she plotted something devious, "Hm…since Astaroth's lizard army is probably going to starve without their 'pwecious' leader, I guess I'm gonna go make sure they get something to eat!"

"Check the entire area!" Tira began to leave Osthreinsburg, "And find me a new host! Being put together won't mean anything without a body to use." Tira became sinister again,

"Heh, I know exactly where to find her…"

**End of Episode 5**


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